Mrs. Nash’s Ashes was one of my favorite romances of 2023 and one of my favorite ARCs I received last year, so it was such a pleasure to receive another Sarah Adler as an arc from Berkley. Oh Sarah, how I love you and your quirky lovable characters <3

Happy Medium is definitely a goofy, heartfelt read! Gretchen is a fraudulent spirit medium until she’s not - when meeting Charlie at his goat farm, she also meets his farm’s resident and very real ghost Everett.

If someone asked me what this book tells us, it’s that “To be loved is to be seen.” Adler crafts a beautiful contemporary romance about a woman who’s afraid to lose people and a man that’s afraid to lose the woman. I absolutely adored Charlie as a book boyfriend and the last 10% of the book honestly had me in tears because of how much it reminded me of people and relationships in my real life. I would have given this a 4 stars for its heart, but I feel like the inconsistent pacing bothered me enough to bump it down to a 3. I would still highly recommend this to anyone and everyone looking for a lovely, touching, funny romance!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my hones opinion. I love u Sarah Adler

What an awesome book! I had no idea what to expect when I started it - and as someone who doesn't love books about magic/ghosts, I was not sure how it would go after the first few chapters. All I can say is that this book did not disappoint. I loved the idea that a (fake) spirit medium (con woman) has to convince a farmer that he has a real-life ghost after a wealthy customer pays her to investigate his farm. While uncovering their own demons, both Gretchen and Charlie's hatred for one another starts to change and grow. Throw in an annoying but amazing ghost that only Gretchen can see, and we have lots of real life drama, humor and fun. The dynamics and tension between them grows slowly, and at times is aggravating, but also done very well. Definitely don't miss this enemies-to-lovers book!

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

This book gives soooo many tropes and small moments that made me love it so much!

Read if you like:
🐐 Goats
👻 Ghosts
💰 Con Artists
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ Rep
🤣 LOL Moments
😡 Enemies to Lovers
🏘️ Small Town Romances

We have our morally grey bisexual con artist FMC Gretchen that has been conning people for years convincing them she can talk to the spirits of their loved ones, but when she gets paid 10k to exercise a ghost for one of her clients so her friend can sell his property before she knows it she quickly gets in over her head on this particular con…

When Gretchen comes face to face with a ghost she can actually talk to it makes her have to rethink her con… especially when the ghost tells her it is a life or death situation for her biggest cynic Charlie, who refuses to believe a word out of her mouth and that she needs to make sure he stays or he will fall victim to the family curse… which makes for a delicious enemies to lovers plot.

Some of my favorite aspects of the book truly were the hilarious interruptions of Everett, the ghost that’s been haunting the Gilded Creek goat farm for almost 100 years, and how much he and Gretchen bonded while trying to convince Charlie not to sell the family property.

I also loved this book because of a few personal connections since I raised dairy goats growing up and had a goat named Thistle & I loved that there was a reference to Welcome Back, Kotter (this show inspired my hubby’s middle name) so these two things made me love Happy Medium even more!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for my gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you so much to Berkley Pub for the advance copy!

If you know me, you know I am a ride or die Mrs. Nash's Ashes fan and have been screaming about that book since I read it last spring.
I always praised Sarah any time I could and I read it multiple times. So I was SUPER excited to learn that she was releasing another book this spring and I was fortunate enough to get an advance copy.

"Oh, there are definitely going to be pics of you on the 'the Instagram' babe. A tattooed and bearded goat farmer? It's gonna be a virtual panty-dropping spree."

Did I thoroughly enjoy the book? YES
Am I going to read it 3xs like I did with her debut? Likely not - maybe once again

I love Sarah's writing and already knew I would be an instant fan after falling in love with her writing in her debut. So with this one it was no different. This was such a unique romance and I applaud her for doing something different!

What I loved about MNA was the banter between the FMC and MMC and while that wasn't strong in this book, we did have it between Gretchen and the friendly ghost she can see Everett. Everett was the absolute best!!! There was a moment where I texted a friend saying I was getting the movie "Ghost" vibe when Gretchen was trying to prove to Charlie that she could see & hear Everett and sure enough at the end of the book Sarah talks about part of the inspiration was taken from the movie.

I understand that Gretchen does not such good things conning people but she was truly trying to be better over the course of her time on the farm and I felt bad for her anytime Charlie just kept throwing it back at her that she was a fraud. Charlie was super grumpy but his personality came through more in the 2nd half of the book. There were small moments when Gretchen first arrived that you could see glimpses of what could be. One of my favorite scenes was when him and Gretchen went to the Tipsy's Lou and that is when things changed between them.
"Don't do that or I'm going to have to bend you over this table and take you right here."
"Well, then don't do that, or I'm going to have to let you."
Once they shared their first kiss, the touching, flirty talk and the pining for one another. I do wish we got to see his POV because I think that would have helped a lot of knowing how he was feeling about her from the start. I would have love to have seen them have more one on one time outside of their farm duties.

Gretchen and Everett's relationship was my favorite in the book. Their friendship was just so sweet to see and how they developed over a few weeks and worked together in to saving the farm. "Oh, thank god. I was dying. Get it? Dying? But I'm already dead?" I love his obsession with watching television and that would keep him occupied for hours. And the epilogue put me in my feels!

I will forever be a Sarah fan and cannot wait to see what she has planned next!!

This is a slow burn so if you are a fan of that trope, goats, redemption arcs & a friendly ghost - check this book out!!

4.5

Title: Happy Medium by Sarah Adler
Publication Date- 04/30/24
Publisher- Berkley Publishing
Overall Rating- 5 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much. I have been trying to find a paranormal romance that I enjoy and this is it. If you are a fan of “The Dead Romantics,” you will love Happy Medium. This year romance has been very hit or miss for me and I loved every second of this story. There are some spicy moments but for those of you in your smut era this is not the book.

To outline specific things I enjoyed, we get a morally gray female character and she stays that way through the whole book. She changes in ways that matter but is really confronted with her own personhood but doesn’t change for anyone else. I loved that. I felt like all the characters in this story were well developed, had their own unique personality traits and were very loveable. We also get a haunting from an older ghost who lived on the farm and his character added so much comedic relief. I didn’t find there to be any insta love between the two main characters and felt that their attraction grew in a reasonable way over time.

The writing was both hard hitting and hilarious. Sarah Adler really struck a balance between talking about grief and dying while also nailing a rom com. I cared so much about the characters I didn’t want the story to end. Make sure you read the author's note. She talks about how this story came to be and what she learned while writing it. I found knowing those aspects added to my enjoyment even more.

THIS IS WHAT PARANORMAL ROMANCE SHOULD BE.

After loving MRS. NASH'S ASHES, I was so excited to receive an ARC of HAPPY MEDIUM. I loved the quirky and laugh-out-loud characters in MRS. NASH'S ASHES and figured that vibe would be repeated in Sarah Adler's newest. Unfortunately, I am DNFing at 18%. I was reading this book for 9 days and still barely made much progress; it was so dull and eye-roll inducing that I just had to stop reading. I did not like the storyline at all and found the main character Gretchen to be annoying and insufferable. Con woman stories don't usually bother me, but I didn't feel like Gretchen had any redeeming qualities. There weren't any sparks or chemistry between Gretchen and Charlie either, and I felt like the ghost aspect was just a bit too much - the ghost was obnoxious. I had no interest in continuing with how slow the story was and how disconnected I felt. Thank you anyway for the ARC.

Totally recommend this book for anyone interested in romcoms. Sarah Adler is a really good writer, and builds fun worlds with great characters.

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler
Rating: 5 stars
Steam: 1 chili
Pub date: 4/30

Gretchen Acorn is a con artist who claims to be a spirit medium. She pretends to connect wealthy people with the spirits of their loved ones, but only because she thinks it will help them with their grief. One rich woman, in particular, has taken an interest in Gretchen and offers to pay her a large sum to exorcise a ghost from her friend’s goat farm. When she arrives, she is shocked to discover an actual ghost, Everett, haunting the farm, and she can see him! Maybe she isn’t such a fraud after all.

But Charlie Waybill, the grumpiest of grumpy farmers, wants nothing to do with Gretchen when she arrives and calls her fake, demanding that she leave immediately. But Everett has reasons for haunting the farm; if Gretchen doesn’t help, something terrible might happen to Charlie.

There isn’t enough space here to explain how much I loved this book. It is grumpy sunshine perfection with a gorgeous setting, adorable goats, quirky characters, and a paranormal element that’s so much fun. Everett is a pervy, cheerful, mischievous spirit who steals the spotlight in every scene, and I love the friendship that forms between him and Gretchen.

Gretchen herself is a force of nature, and while it's true that she cons people for a living, she only does it if she thinks that her con will leave the person better off than when she found them. It’s this moral compass that makes her character so relatable and endearing. Charlie is a grumpy cinnamon roll with a protective side that I just loved. His interactions with Gretchen are full of witty banter, and the slow burn between them is full of sizzling chemistry.

Beneath the humor and paranormal shenanigans lies a sweet story of love, redemption, and the power of being true to oneself. Watching Gretchen and Charlie navigate their way through misunderstandings and ghostly interventions is hilarious and heartwarming. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley Romance for my advanced copy.

Read if you like:
*goats
*ghosts
*enemies to lovers
*forced proximity
*single POV

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC of Happy Medium, which publishes April 30th! All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I thought the premise of this book sounded SO FUN - fake medium can actually see a ghost?!? Sounds so so fun and kooky! And there were parts that I liked - I really liked the ghost, Everett, and there really were some laugh out loud moments! I liked the setting and the baby goats too. I liked Charlie's character and I did also like the ending quite a bit, even though I thought we would get some closure with Gretchen's dad.

But some things about this book just...didn't sit super well with me. I think the main issue I had was that I struggled with Gretchen's...morality and lack of remorse for most of the book. I don't know, I just have a hard time when characters take advantage of other people. I also just found her reticence to tell Charlie the truth and then to actually tell him that she cares for him. I guess just generally I struggled with Gretchen as a character!

Read this for:
- Baby Goats and a Farm
- A real ghost!
- A Soft Hearted Hero
- Magical Realism
- Single POV
- Small Town
- Farmers Markets

I absolutely loved Mrs. Nash's Ashes last summer and could not wait for another Sarah Adler story! I was skeptical of the paranormal element, though I ended up really enjoying Gretchen's storyline and how she became to be a medium - with rules.
What unfortunately did not work for me was the romance. I wanted to root for this couple but, found it hard to believe that Gretchen could fall so had for a man that was constantly yelling "Fraud!" to her face. Everett grew on me a bit but, was ultimately written far too goofy/outlandish for my taste (even for a ghost). But the goats in sweaters and the setting? YES! More of that!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this story! Gretchen is a fake psychic from a long line of opportunistic charlatans. She only takes clients' money if she thinks she can leave them better off than she found them, which is good because otherwise it would have been hard to like her in the beginning. She has transactional relationships but nothing deeper, and denies herself true intimacy until she gets to know Charlie. Charlie owns a struggling goat farm he's trying to sell but is being thwarted by the antics of a ghostly ancestor (the delightful Everett) who is trying to save him from a curse.

The book reads as a bit of a caper although it evens out about halfway through into a more thoughtful read (but still with fun/funny touches). I loved the comedic thread going through the whole story. I loved the premise of a skilled faker realizing that what they've been faking is actually real. And I really enjoyed watching Gretchen open herself up to being less cautious in relationships, and open up to the idea that she's a much better person than she thought. And what can I say about Everett?? He's charming and fun and a TV addict, and I would absolutely have read a whole book just about him. I need to go back and read the author's first book, and I'm genuinely looking forward to more from her in the future.

3.5 stars

It’s an easy funny romance to read and I really liked the first half of it but I got bored very easily around 60%. The thing is that it was a really long slow burn with not so many scenes of tension (even though there were some really really really good) and the plot was just very uneventful.
If i’m being honest i liked the romance and the characters and I think the dynamic was really funny but it was just lacking rhythm and I skimmed through the last pages

Mrs. Nash's Ashes was my best read of 2023 so I was very excited to receive a review copy for Sarah Adler's second release, Happy Medium. This was such a charming read with so much heart. I'm not sure if I had a favorite ghost previously, but Everett has cemented his spot as #1 in my eyes. Can't wait to read more from Sarah Adler!

Alright, Sarah Adler is the queen of unconventional romcoms. A con artist medium with a heart of gold meets a cinnamon roll farmer for an exorcism of his goat farm? That plot pitch alone would make me want to read the book. Add in her signature charm and banter and it was just a lot of happy giggling. I love that Gretchen insists on leaving her marks better than she found them, using her "connection" to the spirit world to allow her clients to process their grief. And Charlie is just the sweetest lil sweater knitter. But Emmett really steals the show, honestly. Between being obsessed with television and his pervy little moments, I waffled between being annoyed by him and wanting to be his best friend. Also Acorn is the cutest nickname, even if it's just her fake last name.

I was a little put out by the ending. I thought that her dad would play a role and there would be some kind of third act breakup and instead everything was fine and it was just over? And Emmett.... my heart *cue sobbing*

Gretchen Acorn, a con woman acting as a medium helping loved ones work through their stages of grief, gets talked into visiting a goat farm to perform an exorcism. She expects there to (A) not really be a ghost on the property and (B) be met by a senior citizen when she arrives on-site.

Imagine her surprise when Charles Waybill turns out to be more of a Charlie—young, hot, and not interested in her services in the least—and the resident ghost turns out to be real.

When they come to an agreement to have Gretchen stay on the farm for a month, they both end up with more than they bargained for.

Highlights for me:
- I adored Everett, the resident ghost. He is the bomb dot com. #iykyk
- Everett’s array of TV references
- Baby goats!
- Charlie’s tattoos
- And his forearms
- And his strong thighs
- And his blushes (Oh goodness, I do so love an MMC that blushes.)
- And his sweaters
- Speaking of sweaters, I have to mention the Frankensweater here.
- Fluffy dogs
- Cheese
- Physical intimacy paired with emotional intimacy
- Themes of home / finding your identity / finding where you belong
- Gretchen’s character growth
- Charlie’s declaration of love
- The author’s note about how the book came to be

What didn’t work as well for me:
- The con artist aspect: I understand that Gretchen tries to help the clients she cons through her medium business (and I do see the humor in the setup), but I bristled whenever she uses any of those skills or instincts, especially when she uses them around Charlie.
- The pacing of the first third of the book: this is written as single POV, and we get a lot of repetitive thoughts in Gretchen’s inner monologue.
- Something that happens in the third act (censored for spoilers)
- I would have liked to have seen more of the beats of the love story between Gretchen and Charlie play out on the page.

Overall, this is a fun one. The emotions are balanced out by the humor in the story. Everett is the best. And Gretchen and Charlie have good chemistry.

I received an advance copy of the book from Berkley and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

What I loved about Happy Medium is that the plot starts with such a unique concept. A (fake) medium is hired to scare away a ghost at a family farm. The cute guy that lives at the farm of course thinks she’s full of crap, but it turns out she can actually communicate with the ghost! The ghost is there to warn the owner of the farm what will happen if he sells the place. The medium is given one month to convince the hot guy that he has to stay to avoid the curse. It’s so quirky and funny and of course the enemies to lovers and forced proximity keep the story flowing. It could have used a little more details of the budding romance but overall I really enjoyed it.

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler follows Gretchen Acorn, a fake medium as she is tasked with ridding a goat farm of ghosts so it can be sold. She eagerly takes on the task, sure she can fake her way through a ghostly cleanse… until she finds out that the ghost is very much real, and she the man who owns the Goat farm is very much her type. Gretchen is left to convince the non-believer Charlie that not only is the ghost real, but there is also a family curse which means he can’t sell his family farm.

Giving this books 5 stars doesn’t feel like enough. I absolutely adored Happy Medium. The characters are so well written and every choice they make and every interaction they have feels so authentic. There is tension galore, a comedic ghost, and some pretty great spice, not to mention there is no third act breakup!!! Did I mention there is also baby goats? I hope this book gets the hype it deserves because wowowow did I ever love it.

I sometimes struggle with "high concept" romance novels, but after having loved Sarah Adler's debut (Mrs. Nash's Ashes), I jumped at the opportunity to read an ARC early.
Con woman (with a heart of gold) who fakes being a spirit medium shows up to fake exorcising a ghost...and can actually see a ghost. BRILLIANT.

I loved Gretchen, and I loved her journey to understand that having community wasn't a weakness. Her developing friendship with Everett (the ghost!) had me tearing up by the end of the book. Just two lonely souls that needed to find someone who wasn't afraid of them, to believe that they could trust to expose their soft bellies and not be injured. Charlie, the love interest and goat farmer, was such a sweet, gentle man whose cynicism and mistrust was well-founded. Watching these two try to ignore their attraction and somehow find a way to work together was beautiful and worth the payoff when their relationship hit a fever pitch. There's a bit of a twist at the ending which plays with a common trope in a really inventive way.

Adler is now 2-for-2 on cute books that somehow make me cry -- an auto-buy author for sure!

Adler can do no wrong, her books are always fluffy with just enough heart to suck you into the narrative. Happy Medium was just as enjoyable as her first book and I can't wait to recommend it to my friends!

Gretchen Acorn has been a fake spiritual medium for years. When one of her most loyal clients hires her to perform an exorcism on a cursed farm, Gretchen finds herself face to face with a real ghost. The ghost of Everett Maybill enlists Gretchen’s help to convince his reluctant and skeptical descendant Charlie to keep the farm in the family. Gretchen has a huge uphill battle in convincing Charlie she isn’t a scam artist and that the ghost and curse are very real. As Gretchen and Charlie grow closer she realizes that the only thing that can save Charlie from a cursed fate is being radically honest with him about everything.

This book has cemented Sarah Adler as an autoread author for me. I read and loved her debut, Mrs. Nash’s Ashes. Happy Medium is a completely different story but it is still filled with the same charm and heart. Both have been 5 ⭐️ reads and I cannot wait for what Sarah Adler writes next!

Charlie Waybill may well be a new top tier book boyfriend for a lot of readers. He’s described initially as being “a genuine good egg with a runny yolk,” meaning his heart is soft. And oh man is his heart soft, even when he’s trying to have a hard outer shell to keep Gretchen out before he trusts her. I love Charlie so much.

Everett is an amazing side character who provides a ton of comic relief but also adds some genuine heart to the story. I was rooting for him to break his curse even as I enjoyed watching his friendship with Gretchen grow and flourish and provide both of them with something they didn’t realize they needed.

Recommended for readers who enjoy: 🔮magical realism 👻 ghostly friends 🐐 goat yoga 🍳 soft hearted heroes 🌻 heroines who are really trying their best 🚜 family farm settings 🧀 happily ever after for everyone, even the ghost

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the advanced copy to read and review. All opinions are my own. Happy Medium is out on April 30.